


Busy Days; Lonesome Nights

by UnSpokenFandoms



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, I'm so sorry for doing the thing, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Love, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:41:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24482194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnSpokenFandoms/pseuds/UnSpokenFandoms
Summary: Tooru Oikawa is a college student who has plenty of fans, but barely any true friends. After moving back to Japan from playing on the San Juan Volleyball team, he encounters a familiar face when picking his nephew up from school. Time passes from the last run-in when Takeru suddenly pleads his uncle to go to school with him. With each moment hanging out with the elementary school teacher, Tooru wonders if he should truly reveal his real self to the male, or not.Koushi Sugawara occupies as an elementary school teacher; sensei to hundreds of energetic children. Although most may say it’s the perfect job, nobody really knows the real reason the grey-haired male took this job opportunity. Growing up with a loving family was nearly impossible for the boy to have. The only family he had was his friends and volleyball teammates; they helped achieve his dream of having a happy family. Now, he hopes he could expand it even more after re-meeting Karasuno’s rival team's former captain: Tooru Oikawa.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Michimiya Yui/Sawamura Daichi, Oikawa Tooru/Sugawara Koushi, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 25
Kudos: 112





	1. Tooru Oikawa

* * *

_**Tap.** _

_**Scratch.** _

_**Click.** _

* * *

Adjusting the weight of the glasses on his nose, the brown-haired male squinted in hopes to get a better glimpse at his professor’s board. Although his eye-sight wasn’t terrible, from the height and distance away he was from the board didn’t quite help matters.

The middle-aged teacher seemed to have no interest at the subject at hand and was casually typing away at her computer the sentences and notes. Quiet murmurs and the scratching of pencils and pens against pieces of paper were heard throughout the large auditorium.

College had taken quite a stressful toll on him, especially his English classes. From a very young age, Oikawa had dreamt of being part of the San Juan Volleyball Team in Rio because of his idol that had the same position as him. But, he can’t really travel internationally if he cannot speak and write in fluent English, can he?

He groaned internally at the mediocre slow pace his class was going by. Pushing his hair out of his face and breathing a long and deep sigh, Oikawa believed he would have gone insane if it weren’t for the bells ringing to save his life. Calmly, but briskly, the male packed his supplies and maneuvered his way around the packs of students.

In his path to get to the courtyard, a small, non-visible scowl appeared on his face. A bunch of students were blocking the entranceway, texting away on their smartphones, not even caring if students were almost crushing every bone in their body to pass through.

* * *

Sighing that he even needed to resort to his past ways, Oikawa placed on his sickening but charming and flirtatious grin. Walking up to them and waving like an innocent child, he spoke in a voice as sweet as honey. “Excuse me, but do you mind moving out of the way?”

The group of females froze in stunned silence and observed this beautiful college upperclassman. Oikawa’s smile began to waver with each passing –and very uncomfortable – minute. Seeing his smile waver just a bit, the alpha female with the concrete make-up waved her hands in front of her face.

“No, no, not at all.” He smiled at this and was about to walk passed them as they parted only to be stopped by the alpha placing a hand on his broad shoulder. Already knowing what she was going to say, but deciding to be polite, the male turned around with a curious look. “Well, now that I think about it…you’re very handsome. Do you happen to be free this-”

“Oh, I’m sorry but I’m not.” Oikawa wanted to get out of the pack as quickly as possible, but seeing how this girl was persistent. Slowly taking her hand off his shoulder, he placed on a fake-closed eye smile. The female’s eyes went wide and glanced at her followers who were snickering behind their phones. Her teeth grit together as she slapped away his hand off hers.

“Well why the hell not, pretty boy? I don’t suppose you’ve got a girlfriend, do you?”

Oikawa bit down a remark. Instead, he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and placed on a shy expression. “Actually, I do.” He almost laughed at her expression and wanted to make her angrier, so he continued. “But I’ve actually a boyfriend, not a girlfriend. Sorry, ladies!”

Almost simultaneously, all the girls lowered their phones and placed their free hand on their faces. Each one looking at each other with the same awed, yet disgusted, expression. Oikawa internally cringed that he had to use the ‘boyfriend-card’ again. He promised himself he would never use it again, he lookie here; he has.

Sticking her nose up in the air, the alpha began to powerwalk away from him, ushering her followers to follow behind her. Almost each and everyone took two, maybe three small glances back as they walked away from Oikawa.

Watching them walk away from him and each step gradually getting softer and softer, Oikawa released a breath and pushed his growing brown hair out of his face. Looking around and spotting the students disperse their separate ways to go home; he decided that he should too. Adjusting his backpack strap on his shoulder, Oikawa began walking towards the station.  
  


* * *

It was getting chilly and when he breathed, a small cloud formed from his lips. The city of Tokyo was getting very busy, considering New Year’s had just ended and mostly everything was on sale. People everywhere were crowding the stands and stores, hoping to grab the best buy. There were couples and families everywhere, all were in awe of the remaining lights in the city. Nobody took second glances at the finishing college student in their trance.

Dancing street performers lured in amazed audiences by the pack; especially young couples and children. Loud music blared through numerous speakers and the noisy hum of the marketplace added more to the loudness.

As he walked by the brightly lit cafes and busy streets, Oikawa recalled a memory from his high school years.

* * *

_“Iwa-chan, come on! Let’s buy you a new pair of those shoes; aren’t you tired of it being all beaten up like that?” Oikawa lowered his water bottle and pointed to the male’s shoes. The spiky-haired boy shook his head and sighed, pouring some of the water on his head._

_“I don’t have the time, nor do I have the money to get me some new ones, Shittykawa.”_

_Oikawa only pouted at this and crossed his arms at his friend’s response. “Whatever, I’m getting you new ones this New Year and you can’t stop me!”_

_Iwaizumi’s cheeks reddened a bit and almost smiled but instantly placed on a mask of distaste. Quickly standing up, he pushed his water bottle into his captain’s chest, a bit rougher than he intended to, and walked away._

_The standing male watched as his friend go by and sighed, looking down at the two water bottles in his possession. Iwaizumi can be so stubborn; it ticked him off…So why did he take a liking to the hot-headed boy in the first place? He huffed and planted the bottles on the bench and lightly jogged back to the line-up._

_Lightly slapping his cheeks with both hands repeatedly, Oikawa tried to calm his male hormones down. “I’ve got to tell him one of these days…One way, or another.” A satisfied grunt escaped his pink lips as he jogged towards the line-up along with the rest of his team._

* * *

Suddenly, a body ran into him, pushing both of them both onto the ground. Oikawa had landed on his back, temporarily blacking him out for a few seconds and getting the wind knocked out of him.

“Oh! I am so sorry about that!” A faint, yet familiar voice blurred in his hearing. Blinking a few times, Oikawa finally saw a blurry grey-haired male, looking down at him with worry. “I was in a rush and with, well, with all these people I wasn’t able to see where I was going and-” The stranger paused his rant and seemed to tilt his head a bit to the side, “Oikawa…san?”

Finally finding his glasses on the ground, which were – thankfully – still intact, Oikawa placed them on and got a better view of the person. That grey-hair with that stray antennae…that beauty mark on his left cheek…and that familiar motherly instinct…Oikawa’s eyes widened as he slowly got up from his position on the ground.

Oikawa dusted off some of the dirt off his clothes. Putting on his signature smile, he chuckled and patted the shorter male’s shoulder. “You’re one of Karasuno’s setters? The one with all those irritating tactics?”

Sugawara nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, “Wow, I’d never thought I would bump into you – of all people in Tokyo – tonight.” He smiled and bowed slightly before him. “My name is Sugawara Koushi and I’m still sorry for bumping you to the ground, Oikawa-san. I was in a rush to catch my train which leaves in…” Glancing down at his watch, his warm eyes widened with shock. “ _Two minutes?_!”

Oikawa stepped aside and bowed before him as well, “Well, I guess you’d better get going then. One thing I’ve learned is that they wait for literally _no one._ ”

The grey-haired male bowed twice and began running past him. “I hope to meet you again, Oikawa-san!”

“Sure thing, Sugawara-san! I won’t be going anywhere else, anyways!”

He heard the other male laugh at that and waved to him before running forwards. Oikawa kept on waving until he could no longer see that grey antenna. Releasing a sigh, but now with a more positive vibe around him, Oikawa fixed his straps one more time before heading to his apartment.


	2. Koushi Sugawara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy the "fluff" that's to come:3

* * *

**He’s nice.**

**He’s charming.**

**Why his smile attracts people like flies to honey.**

* * *

But what is truly behind that innocent-looking smile that makes the wearer feel like…a fake?

Sugawara stared at his reflection in the mirror, scratching and using his hand to grasp onto his chin to check the rightful cause. He frowned at his image and let go of his chin with a sigh. Shoulders drooping, Sugawara turned on the bathroom sink and lightly splashed his face, hoping the reddening areas around his eyes would vanish.

Lightly rubbing the water on his face, the grey-haired male began to think about a lot of things.

First off, how was his family doing? Have they changed? If he came home again after his term, would they still accept him – grey hair and all?

Secondly, he began thinking of his previous teammate and long-time crush, Daichi Sawamura. Was he happy with Michimiya? How was their relationship with each other?

Of course, his heart was broken from hearing that rejecting sentence: _‘You’re only a friend to me_ _– maybe even a brother, Suga.’_

But – considering his kind nature – he had no ill-will towards the happy couple. However, every time he spotted the two holding hands, laughing, and just quietly enjoying themselves, Sugawara couldn’t quite help but stare desperately at the male’s hands. It should have been him, not her, holding that hand.

A loud ringing engulfed the depressing atmosphere the bathroom had. The sound ricocheted off the walls, making the noise louder than it actually is. Sugawara reached into his back pocket and pulled out a sleek, black smartphone. He wiped his eyes and tried to read the caller ID, but his vision was still blurry so he just took the risk and answered.

“Hello?” A small squeak rose in his voice which made him internally cringe.

“Sugawara-san! It’s been a while, how are you?” A peppy voice of a certain orange head responded.

Sugawara’s lips twitched upwards and released a deep breath. “I’m doing well, Hinata. What about you? What it like being one of the third years, now, eh?”

He could imagine the underclassman casually setting the ball up and down in his room for his voice was somewhat farther than before. “The kouhai are so cool! You should see our wing-spiker and blocker; they’re so amazing!”

Sugawara chuckled.

“But, of course, they’re nothing like you guys. You guys were _waaaaaay_ better!”

“Thank you, Hinata.” Sugawara sat on the edge of the bathtub and held the phone between his shoulder and neck, raising his shoulder a bit to balance it out. “It’s quite late; did you have something very important to talk about?”

A silence came from the other side. The grey-haired male raised an eyebrow and was about to speak again when he heard a snap. “There is!

......Sugawara-san, did you know Daichi and Michimiya-san are going to get married?”

* * *

_“Sugawara-san, did you know Daichi and Michimiya-san are going to get married?”_

Those words. Those two words he never once thought would be in the same sentence for that couple.

Sitting in stunned silence, Sugawara’s phone fell onto the bathroom floor with a quiet thud. Grabbing fistfuls of grey-hair and an incontrollable sob coming from his throat, Sugawara quickly brought the phone back up to his ear and put on a cheerful façade.

However, he knew all that he was saying were _lies._

_**All**_

of the words he was saying were

 **_lies_ ** _._

“Oh really? I’m so happy for them!” He gave his reflection in the mirror a smile.

_{No, you are not}_

“I wish them all the best!” Standing up from sitting down on the bathroom tub, he drew an invisible smiley face in the mirror.

_{Do you now?}_

“They’re going to be a lovely couple, especially since they seemed to be so in love with each other last time I checked! I can’t wait for the invitations, Hinata.” A light chuckle escaped his lips.

_{Stop lying to yourself; you wish it was you with him. Not_ her.}

Hinata laughed, “Okay Sugawara-san! I’ll be sure to keep you updated, but for now, good night!”

Sugawara looked at his watch on his left wrist. “Yes, it’s very late now, Hinata. Sleep well.” And thus Hinata ended the call.

Feeling his knees wobble and feel weak, Sugawara gripped onto the side of the sink to steady himself. An intense feeling surged through his body; he desperately wanted to throw up. Leaning on the counter of the sink, he took deep breaths and counted each one. With each breath, his body began shaking as tears slowly began rolling down his cheeks.

Placing a delicate finger and wiping the tear away, Sugawara pathetically smiled to himself. “Look at that, I’m crying again.” Though, in seconds flat that smile was replaced with a deep frown.

His body rattled as his sobs escaped his lips loudly. Now letting go of the sink and freely letting himself topple on the floor, Sugawara curled into a ball on the bathroom floor. It was disgusting, pathetic even, but the crying male didn’t care. He needed time to process this horrible fate of his, and why it had to happen to him of all people. Wasn't his past life enough torture? 

* * *

_His father looked at him with disappointment._

_His mother thought he was a curse._

_A small, looking Sugawara hugged his stuffed crow tighter to his chest as he was sent away to live with his uncle and two cousins. From the moment the boy turned around the young age of seven, fate had taken a drastic part from his life: a true family._

_Living with his parents was toleratable. Back then, Sugawara knew whenever he was going to get punished. They always beat him – discipline, they told him – on Tuesdays at 10 pm. If he was asleep, it didn’t matter. The cruelty of his parents would lock him in the innermost room of the house so suspecting neighbours wouldn’t hear the boy’s muffled screams._

_However, with his uncle and his two female cousins, life was basically a living hell for the young seven-year-old. His time living at that ruined his mindset. From all the demoting names and child neglection, Sugawara found himself spiral into a deep hole where no light of hope shone down on him._

* * *

_His uncle dressed him up as a female and had his wicked way with the nine-year-old._

_His two cousins laughed and mentally scarred him with disturbing images and frightening threats._

_Nobody really cared about the grey-haired child. Two years had passed from living in that house and it only got worse. The abuse only got worse and worse. Some days, Sugawara would glance out the tiny window in the equally tiny and enclosed closet he called a ‘bedroom’, and wonder why God had placed him in such a situation. His cousins had kicked him out of his room the year before as a place to store their belongings._

_“You’re not worth more than our things, you little shit!” The eldest of the two, spit in his face._

_The other laughed and pointed towards the closet, “Now go to your room! We don’t want to see your pathetic-looking face in our sight.”_

* * *

_He felt used._

_He felt like ending it all._

_All the light a child his age should have been filled with was extinguished long, long ago._

_As he headed back to the torture-house he called home from gathering groceries, Sugawara’s walking pace came to a stop. The bookstore had a deal on every stationary to be 50% off the usual price. A burning sensation fueled his body to walk inside the store._

_For the first time in years, the twelve-year-old boy had a small sense of happiness. Using the last of his money to buy five 600 paged lined-books from the store._

_Although he was given looks of curiosity, nobody really asked why a child of twelve needed that many notebooks. The shopkeeper believed he was an inspiring author and was planning to write the next Moby Dick; the passing elderly lady thought the grey-haired kid was going to wrap them up as gifts for a family gathering._

_Not one person thought, even for a brief moment, that the notebooks would be the only way for Sugawara to release the bottled-up emotions that were slowly eating him up on the inside._

_Glancing down at his watch, his eyes widened at the time. He only had ten minutes to run home and prepare dinner, while finding a spot to hide his newly-bought notebooks from their selfish hands. Quickly sprinting uphill to the house, Sugawara placed the notebooks inside his ‘room’ and under his ‘pillow’ which was just a plastic bag full of old rags._

_Fortunately, while living with his parents, Sugawara had picked up the art of cooking with few materials and making it into a delicious dish in less than seven minutes. He grabbed four cups of water and placed it to a boil. Then, he took the four carrots from his groceries and chopped them into small squares. He did the same with the potatoes, onions, and radishes. Once the water boiled crazily, the small boy threw in the ingredients. Once the vegetables were softened, he slowly added a bit of curry powder, salt, and left-over meat scraps from the previous dinner in the fridge._

_The familiar opening and closing of the house gates caused his heart to pick up its pace. As quick as he possibly could, he grabbed a spoon and a small plastic container, scooped some of the make-shift soup into his ‘bowl’ and lightly placed it into his ‘room’._

_This was his routine. This was his life. And he never told anyone. But ever since he bought those notebooks and used the thrown out pencils his cousins had, Sugawara was finally free to express these thoughts. From the moment he was first treated like trash to the first time he finally felt at home in the volleyball team._

* * *

He was almost late for a meeting with a kid’s parents and the grown male was basically pushing past strangers and other common folks. Glancing down at his wristwatch, he shook his head, cursing internally at how quickly time can fly.

It was almost too late to pause in his tracks to avoid running into a brown-haired stranger who was mesmerized by the flashing lights of the city. Sugawara closed his eyes for impact as his body mass collided with the person.

He covered his mouth with both of his hands and began apologizing while bowing like a rocking see-saw. The person he collided with only groaned and rubbed his head, one hand scraping the ground in search for his glasses.

“Oh! I’m so sorry! I was in a rush and with, well, with all these people I wasn’t able to see where I was going and-” Sugawara was in the middle of explaining himself when he stopped and finally familiarized himself with the person he bumped into. “Oikawa…san?”

* * *

Waving his final good-bye to the male, Sugawara felt a sudden, but pleasing warmth spread in his chest. It felt so nice…yet why does his heartache when the feeling is so pleasurable?

Shaking his head to dismiss the thought, he boarded the underground train and headed towards an evening meeting with one of his student’s parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That...that wasn't what I meant to write...honestly. But, whatcha going to do? OwO


	3. Tooru Oikawa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like you all deserve a good breather from Sugawara's chapter. Here, I present you with an Oikawa chapter once again. You're welcome~

* * *

**1** flight of stairs.

 **2** 4 steps.

 **3** bags of groceries and other items.

* * *

Oikawa looked down at his keys in his left hand and shifted the bags to his right. They weren’t that heavy, but the weight still made the chocolate-haired male want to instantly throw the bags onto the floor.

Fumbling with the keys for a while, he was finally able to open the steel door. With a small nudge with his knee to open it, he stepped into the quiet comforts of his home. The lights turned on the moment he entered the room, so he didn’t really have to worry about it. Placing the three bags on the polished, white marble countertop, Oikawa closed the door and locked it.

As he was locking the door, Oikawa noticed a small note on the floor. He kneeled down and squatted in front of the door, holding the small piece of paper in his hands. It was crumbled and the handwriting looked very rushed; the male had to adjust his glasses in order to decipher the words.

What seemed like ages trying to act like Sherlock Holmes, he decided to let the matter be and figure it out in the morning when he had the whole day off to agonize about it. Running a hand through his hair, Oikawa sighed and stood up. Stretching his arms out to the side and rolling his neck to relieve inner stress, he decided that he should go to bed earlier than the usual 5 AM.

Nodding his head in approval to his own decision, Oikawa placed the piece of paper on the small coffee table and placed his hands on his hips. “But first, let’s do something about those groceries.”

* * *

 _Not bothering to help with the piling homework, Oikawa laughed and poked the tanned boy’s cheek._ _Repeatedly. “Iwa-chan~”_

_Only a grunt of annoyance came from his chest as he ignored the voice._

_Oikawa pouted and leaned closer to his ear, “Iwa-chaan~”_

_Iwaizumi could feel his face get a bit red from the closeness, but still ignored him and continued copying his notes onto Oikawa’s paper._

_A sigh left the setter’s lips as he pulled away, taking the obvious hint his friend didn’t want to converse with him. He sat cross-legged on his companion’s bed and watched Iwaizumi scribble away on the desk. He couldn’t really complain with watching, can he? Mesmerized, Oikawa watched as Iwaizumi’s muscles flexed and toned themselves whenever he flipped the page or erased a mistake._

_“You know I can see you staring, right?” Iwaizumi broke and trance Oikawa had gotten himself into. The chocolate-haired boy shrugged and smiled sheepishly. The working male looked behind him and stared at Oikawa’s childish movements before rolling his eyes and continued jotting down the notes that were needed._

_After thirty minutes, Iwaizumi was finally finished with the copying. Running a hand through his upright hair, he tipped his hair just a bit backwards while releasing a deep breath. It whistled as he slowly rocked the chair back onto its four legs._

_“Well, I’m finished Shitty...kawa?” He turned around, no longer hearing the loud complaints from the male nor the irritating mutters about aliens existing. Instead, he found a lanky boy hugging the stuffed green dinosaur he had gotten Iwaizumi for his birthday last year._

_Feeling his lips twitch up into a semi-smile, Iwaizumi quietly pushed his chair back and stood up, stretching his limbs from sitting too long. Then, he picked up all the textbooks, notebooks, pencils, erasers, and little fidget trinkets Oikawa brought with him and placed it inside his backpack._

_Although he treated this child-stuck-in-a-teenager’s body person ever since they were kids, Iwaizumi couldn’t possibly imagine a world without knowing Oikawa was safe and away from harm._

_Being the kind friend he is, Iwaizumi placed Oikawa in a more comfortable position by raising his head a bit and placed a pillow under it. Then he draped a light grey blanket over-top of his body; since he was so tall, Oikawa’s toes were the only body part sticking out (aside from his head and shoulders, of course.)_

_Iwaizumi was about to leave the boy in his room and go sleep on the couch for the night when he stopped in his tracks. A needle-like feeling came from his gut that kept drawing him closer to the sleeping male. Taking silent steps towards him, Iwaizumi leaned down to where Oikawa was resting. His cheeks began to feel warm as he slowly pushed the other male’s hair away from his eyes. A strong sense of longing burned in Iwaizumi’s gut, but he dismissed it and stood up straight._

_Sighing, he opened the bedroom door, took one last glance at Oikawa, and left the room, gently closing the door behind him._

_That was one of Oikawa’s most treasured memories of Iwaizumi; the secret sweetness he would show to him whenever he felt Oikawa wasn’t paying attention._

* * *

He would gladly give literally anything if it meant that the sun didn’t have to rise so early. Bright yellow streams of light poked through the small openings the curtains, waking up the exhausted college male.

Flipping on his side, he reached for his phone on the bedside table. Hissing at the excess light that was invading his eyes, he squinted and blinked out the black dots that were forming. A sigh left his lips as he placed the phone on his chest. Oikawa let his eyelids flutter close as he recalled the memory of his fake-sleeping that night. A melancholy smile graced his lips.

“I miss you, Iwaizumi Hajime.” He muttered into the humid air. “I promise I’ll make you proud.”

With that quiet promise, Oikawa sat up and kicked his covers off of his legs. 

* * *

Staring at the piece of paper through the magnifying glass, Oikawa took a sip of the berry slushie he had bought at the café just a few blocks away from his apartment. A curious hum rumbled in his chest as he fiercely studied the poorly handwritten piece of paper.

He knew – for some reason – that this crumpled piece of paper was important...but since his pockets were always filled with little pieces of garbage and other loose items, he never really emptied it out. This piece of paper fell onto the floor _purposely._ It was like fate was trying to urge him to do something.

But exactly what was it trying to tell the male to do?

He flopped down on the table and slowly began lightly hitting his head on the table. Hopefully, some of his brain-cells were still working after being so crammed with college work.

Suddenly, he perked up and brought out his phone. As he was about to press the call button on it, a sense of despair filled him. With a heavy heart, he put down the phone on the table beside him, the number of the cell he loved calling so much still displayed.

A sense of longing waved off of the chocolate-haired male as he picked up the piece of paper and brought it towards the light. Using his right arm to hold the piece of paper up, Oikawa tipped his chair backwards with his legs, almost lazily doing the stunt. He squinted when he suddenly began seeing faint numbers. Brown eyes widened as he brought his chair back on the ground with a large thud.

Like a child at Christmas, Oikawa grew more and more excited as he copied down the numbers from the piece of paper. Once he was done scribbling away the numbers, he stood up from the kitchen table and chuckled to himself. It was a foreign number, no doubt. Grabbing his phone once again, Oikawa opened up the Internet browsing app on it and jotted down the numbers, hoping to find something relating to its importance to the tall male.

Grabbing a fistful of hair in shock, Oikawa let out a small laugh. “How did I manage to forget this guy’s number? He literally ran up to me and offered me a chance to play for the team I admire the most...oh boy, we’re long overdue for a talk.” 

A confident smile graced his mouth as he pressed the call button.

Two rings past before a deep – yet chirpy - accented voice came through. “Hola! Paolo Santos, speaking!”

Oikawa’s chest vibrated as he chuckled to himself. “Hello, this is Oikawa Tooru, I was wondering if we could have a talk about that offer you made?”

The male on the other end laughed and seemed to be moving stuff aside for there was background rustling. Once it settled, Paolo spoke, “The great setter of Japan in his high school years! Yes, I remember you now. Please, please, let’s talk. So...what do you think? Do you accept?”

Oikawa looked at the lonely volleyball in the corner of the living room. He smirked a bit and nodded, “I’ll take it; thank you.”

Paolo laughed wholeheartedly again and wrote something down, “Well, you’d better get yourself ready!” His voice got deep, almost ominous-sounding, “Because my training isn’t for those who I believe are weak. Understood, Tooru Oikawa?”

He almost had to force himself to swallow the fear that was trying to escape his lips but kept an even voice. “Understood.”

“Great! We’ll prepare your arrival in Rio once you feel ready! Goodbye!”

And the call was ended just like that.

Oikawa stood, frozen, before throwing a fist in the air. “Yes!” Dancing a bit in place, he stopped and walked over to his volleyball. Oikawa picked up the volleyball and held it in his long fingers. “Let’s see what Rio has to offer me, huh?” He grinned and laid down on the couch, a happy vibe radiating off of him.

Now he was more eager than ever to finish his college classes.

* * *

Inhaling quite a deep breath through his nose, he grinned at the unusually warm weather and light summer breeze. Suitcase in hand, Oikawa looked down at his phone and glanced around the airport entrance.

A message popped-up from the very person he was going to train under saying that he was going to be late picking him up.

The brown-haired male’s face contorted into an amused, yet pissed off feature. Looking around for a place to sit down for a while, he finally spotted a wooden bench with a young mother and a daughter around the age of eight. They both looked like they were waiting to be picked up by someone as well since the mother had this longing look on her face. He hesitantly paused in his tracks and shook his head for the right English words to ask.

“Ex-excuse me,” He quietly asked in broken, yet almost fluent English. The woman flickered her dark eyes to meet his. They were full of warmth that Oikawa never knew from a stranger before. “Do you mind me sitting down beside you?”

The woman smiled and gently patted her side of the bench which was free. Carefully moving her bags aside, she nodded towards him. Oikawa bowed; a traditional Japanese habit he’s grown accustomed to before actually saying the words, “Thank you.” 

* * *

For a while, Oikawa, the woman, and her child sat down in silence underneath the shade a tall palm tree provided for them. It wasn’t until the small child broke it by tugging at Oikawa’s denim shorts. The taller male raised his eyebrows and looked down at the small child, a small smirk on his lips.

“Mister, why are you so tall?” She innocently asked. Oikawa chuckled and looked at the mother, who was smiling a bit herself.

“Well, I play volleyball.”

The little kid’s eyes sparkled as she brought her little fingers up into a setting position and pretended to set an imaginary volleyball.

Oikawa’s eyes widened at this feat before asking her a question herself, “Do you play volleyball, too?”

Nodding energetically the little girl smiled, “Yes! My papa and I play on the beach sometimes. He’s a trainer for the National Volleyball Team here!”

“Who-” Oikawa was just about to ask when a grey miniature van parked in front of them. His eyes widened as the little girl ran towards the tall middle-aged man, arms open. The woman stood up as well and patted the setter’s shoulder the best she could.

“I hope you enjoy your stay with us here in Rio, Tooru Oikawa. Welcome to the Santos family.”

Oikawa stood stunned before a big smile spread across his lips. He nodded and bowed once again towards her, “Thank you, Mrs. Santos.” Then, as a polite courtesy towards her, he offered to place her bags inside the car. She accepted.

Heart hammering inside his chest as he watched the landscapes go past, Oikawa felt like he’s finally starting a brand new life; one that he’d promise Iwaizumi all those years before. Their childhood promise of always looking at the positive side of things; even if horrible events occurred before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I need to s t o p making new angst ideas...GEEZ-


	4. Koushi Sugawara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even sorry-YES I AM

* * *

**The evening flew by.**

**He could barely believe 3 hours had gone just like that.**

**But he was happy to help the parents with their child.**

* * *

Sugawara bowed towards the boy’s parents, showing his full respect. “Thank you for letting me have the honours to teach your child. He has been a pleasure.”

The two parents returned the action and bowed back. A relieved smile on his face, Sugawara adjusted his coat jacket and waved to the small child in the window, who waved frantically back, before leaving the calm neighbourhood.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Sugawara could feel the early January chills bite at his exposed skin. Walking through an unfamiliar neighbourhood was rough, but since Sugawara would visit his students’ parents and home often for late-night meetings like these, he felt quite at ease.

He slowed down his pace a bit, just to admire the lights in the downtown part of Tokyo. A light smile rose on his face; he almost chuckled at the cliché of all of it. Humming a small tune of a song he had heard playing on the radio at his student’s home, the teacher-in-training headed towards the underground train station.

Although he could have possibly walked home himself, he felt that it was much too cold to walk such a far – yet close – distance.

On top of that, Sugawara had to prepare next week’s classes for the students; the final week before the final months of testing that he could finally get the chance to become the teacher he felt like he should be.

* * *

Surpassing an awakening yawn, the now-full time teacher stood in front of the classroom’s sliding door. He waited until all the commotion died down before walking into it, his charming and bright smile radiating throughout the corners of the grey room. The students believed their Sugawara-sensei was an angel sent from heaven.

It wasn’t only because of his beautiful smile and graceful aura; it was also the way he treated his students.

He valued them as they were his children; the homework he gave them also was enjoyable to the students because they tried their hardest once it came to Sugawara-sensei.

They were only in elementary school to know such a thing as indirect paternal love, but they knew they sensed something within their wonderful teacher that made them feel at ease. Even the parents of the young children would relax whenever he would smile during their evening meetings.

Koushi Sugawara was an angel sent from heaven.

Upon hearing those words ‘angel’ and his name truly sparked something within the grey-haired teacher. It wasn’t a pleasing spark nor was it a disgusting spark…it was…calming. As his slender fingertips picked up the warm pieces of printed paper from the hard-working printer, Sugawara began thinking about his uncle and cousins.

Sure they were horrible people, but Sugawara just couldn’t bear the thought of hating them for the rest of his life. He believed, to achieve great happiness, you must first learn a great deal of sadness. As poetic as it sounded, the small motto he had was right.

Enduring those cramped spaces in his closet-room, Sugawara now has a serious case of claustrophobia. He hated anything too compacted – including the underground trains, but after talking his fears over with his close friends at Karasuno, Sugawara’s slowly being able to withstand closed areas; thus, his final decision to move to Tokyo, but live in the suburban houses.

* * *

With the sun slowly setting, a chorus of farewells made their way to the teacher’s ears. Although he was fairly new at the whole teacher-vibe, (being only three years in the school district) the staff and students adored him and wanted to make the male feel as warmly as home as possible.

“Wait, Sugawara-sensei! Please…wait for me!” A childish voice echoed throughout the halls.

The said male stopped walking in spot and smiled warmly down at the exhausted boy, who had his hands on his knees. Panting like he’d run a marathon, Sugawara placed the small stack of papers under his arm and crouched down to meet the boy at eye-level.

He placed a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder and chuckled a bit, “Takeru, what did we say about running in the halls?”

Gathering as much oxygen as he could muster, the brown-haired boy answered, “I-I know it-it’s not allowed, b-but I had to catch y-you before go-going home.”

This intrigued Sugawara for he perked up almost immediately, “Really? What is it that you wanted me to know about?”

Takeru snapped his head up to look at his teacher dead-in-the-eye; Sugawara was shocked at how serious yet excited those eyes held. “My uncle is coming back from the Rio Volleyball Team and I want you to meet him!”

The grey-haired male blinked once, twice, before releasing a small laugh.

Gently ruffling Takeru’s head, he stood up and placed a hand on his hip, “Is that all? Gosh, that’s great news, Takeru! I’d love to meet your uncle, sometime.” He gave his student a closed-eye smile.

The small boy laughed and bowed to his teacher. With new-found strength, Takeru started to run for the door, but Sugawara only held the boy by the end of his shirt. Takeru looked at him with confusion before seeing the knowing smile on Sugawara’s face and relaxed with a sigh.

“I know…no running.”

“No running.” The two said together. Suga let go of the boy’s shirt and waved him good-bye; the student did the same.

Shaking his head once he heard the fast tapping of shoes half-way across the hallways, Sugawara began wondering who Takeru’s uncle was and if he knew who it is. Shrugging to himself, Sugawara focused his attention back to filing his class’s papers.

* * *

_It was their second year and the volleyball team was slowly, but surely progressing to Daichi’s dream of being a strong team again. Five first years had arrived; one of them being a famous libero in his middle school._

_Seeing Daichi smile that proudly at the growing team caused a small ache in Sugawara’s heart. He looked away after feeling growing warmth on his cheeks._

_Asahi watched Sugawara suddenly look away from the new-comers concerned him, but decided to ask him about this odd behaviour afterwards. For right now, he had to deal with this energetic, and very short, libero who was asking the second-year for one of his serves to practice his receives._

_Daichi hummed and slapped a hand on Sugawara’s shoulder, startling him a bit. “Suga!”_

_“D-Daichi, please don’t scare me like that!” The setter placed a hand on his chest in hopes to calm his rapidly beating heart. Daichi just sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, obviously nervous about something._

_After realizing that fact, Sugawara’s hopes began to rise; his heart hammering against his rib-cage. “Something is bothering you, isn’t there?”_

_A sudden red blush spread across Daichi’s face like wildfire, confirming Sugawara’s thoughts. However, he felt a dark feeling in the pit of his stomach once he heard Daichi’s embarrassed laughter._

_“A-about that…” He paused and stared at the open volleyball door with a trance-like gaze. Sugawara raised an eyebrow before following his line-of-vision. A sharp inhale came from his lips as he felt his heartbreak piece by piece. His warm brown eyes widened with the corners of his prickling._

_Glancing to his right where the captain of the volleyball team was standing, Sugawara saw how a love-sick smile was resting upon his face._

_His eyes were glazed over as he watched her walk past the club with a mesmerizing look. Sugawara pleaded with the love-of-his-life’s internal self to shut up._

_“I…”_

_{Please don’t say it.}_

_“Really…”_

_{No, you don’t!}_

_“Like…”_

_{Stop shut up!}_

_“Her.”_

_{It’s me! You mean me, me, me!}_

_Taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves, Sugawara couldn’t bring himself to speak. It was too much, it was_ way _too much for his already fragile heart to muster._

 _Smiling his best, Sugawara pretended he had to meet with a teacher and before anyone else could stop him – especially Daichi – Sugawara ran out of the club. He wanted to get away from everyone; away from_ him _. Tears began falling from his eyes, and this time he didn’t stop it until he reached the gateway._

_Sitting down on the edge of the flowerbeds, Sugawara hung his head low. He felt the sun setting against his back, but he didn’t care. All he could think about was Daichi’s lovesick expression._

_Why did he still have to look so goddamn good, even if that expression’s not for Sugawara himself?_

_A frustrated groan left his lips as he grabbed a fistful of his grey hair, not noticing two looming figures._

_“Sugawara-san, is everything alright? And don’t say it is because your crying face will only make it seem like you’re lying.”_

_Almost instantly, Sugawara snapped his head up and saw a bald boy and Asahi. He was about his use his hands to rub away the tears when Asahi extended a neatly folded black handkerchief from his pockets._

_He stared at the handkerchief and then at Asahi, who only nodded his head in silent persuasion. Hesitantly, Sugawara took the piece of cloth and wiped away his tears with it._

_The two sat down on both ends of the boy. “I’m sorry you have to see your senpai like this, Tanaka-Kun.” Sugawara looked up and shot the boy with a sad smile. Tanaka only furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. The grey-haired student sighed and looked down at the now-crumbled handkerchief in his hands. “You probably have no idea but…I-I like Daichi.”_

_“We know.” An answer came from Asahi, which caused Sugawara to look at his direction, wide eyes and mouth hanging open. The setter about to answer when Asahi raised a hand to quiet him; Asahi looked at Sugawara with warm eyes and a gentle smile. “But_ he _doesn’t.”_

_Feeling his lips start to quiver, Sugawara threw his arms around both the boy's shoulder and pulled them close, sobbing his heart out. “I don’t know why I can’t seem to get over this…no-matter how much I try…”_

_Tanaka awkwardly patted his senpai’s back in an act of affection. The three sat in silence with the slight fall breeze passing through their buckled up jackets. It was so cliché, yet Sugawara wouldn’t have traded a better day to release his feelings._

_Every day after that confession Daichi made to Sugawara about Michimiya, a heavy tension held in the air of the volleyball court. Of course, only the three that gathered that evening felt it, but their subtle acts slowly spread onto the rest of the team. Everyone on the team, except Daichi of course._

_However, this day would bring the most pain to Sugawara’s heart, no matter how many years had gone past._

* * *

_It was the evening after practice. Two full months since that day; one month and thirteen days after Daichi and Michimiya started dating each other._

_He and Sugawara were left behind to clean up the volleyball court and make sure everything was in place. To Daichi, it was just two close friends spending quiet time together; to Sugawara, it was torture._

_A_ _s creepy as it sounded, Sugawara could_ smell _Michimiya’s scent all over his beloved. The way the dark-haired boy sweated and the rosy-smell wafting off of him, Sugawara knew instantly what they’ve done to each other already._

_While instead of the storage room, Sugawara released a deep breath and choked back a growing sob. He cursed at his weakness and gripped onto the mop he was holding onto, tighter._

_Daichi noticed how eerie calm it had gotten and was about to assume Sugawara had left before him when he heard soft sniffling. Eyebrows rising, he followed the noise to its owner._

_Crouched in the corner behind the rolled-up net and other sports equipment, was a fragile-looking teenager, weeping silently to himself. Already sensing something was going on; Daichi pushed aside the basket of volleyballs and slowly walked over to his friend._

_“Hey...Suga? What’s bothering you?”_

_Maybe out of habit, but Sugawara instantly jolted up and scurried away from the voice, afraid to be hurt. His eyes were closed before quickly opening them and seeing a concerned-looking Captain hovering over his small corner._

_Furiously rubbing at his eyes, Suga placed on a meek smile. “I-I’m fine, Daichi. See?”_

_Daichi frowned and squatted down beside him, a soft grunt escaping his soft lips. Those beautiful… tender…warm…lips. Sugawara blinked repeatedly and looked away, mentally scolding himself for thinking such a way at this time. “I know what’s bothering you.”_

_A silence enveloped the room as Daichi stared at Sugawara with the most serious expression he had ever mustered. Sugawara only gaped at him before putting on an innocent act, “There’s nothing wrong with me, Daichi. Really!”_

_Daichi placed a firm, yet comforting hand on the vice-captain’s shoulder. He could instantly feel Sugawara tensing up under his hand, a feat he’d never done until two months ago. He stared hard and deep into those eyes, “I’m sorry, Sugawara, I should’ve known your feelings. Believe me, if I’d gone back in time, I would’ve done something entirely different, but…I can’t.”_

_Sugawara could feel his heart pounding in his ears. Was this real? No, something was off. Voice soft and gentle, Suga responded. “What do you mean, Daichi?”_

_The male released a deep breath, “I know your feelings for Yui. I know you like her too…and I’m sorry for taking your chances of being with her away from you, Suga.”_

_Sugawara blinked in shock before he was suddenly filled with a heat bubbling from his chest. His face grew warm as he grabbed Daichi by the shirt, eventually knocking the male’s hand off of his shoulder and placed the male against the wall._

_He was angry - furious even, that this boy,_ this boy, _couldn’t take the hints._

_“DAICHI, YOU IDIOTIC BASTARD! WHY CAN’T YOU SEE THE FACTS BEFORE YOUR EYES ALREADY? OR DO I HAVE TO SAY THEM IN A WAY SO THAT YOUR PUNY BRAIN CAN COMPUTE THEM?”_

_The other male’s eyes widened at this sudden outburst, his mouth slightly ajar. He shook his head, his short hair moving along with the movement. “Suga, what are you-”_

_Sugawara released a growl and let go of Daichi’s shirt, tears pouring down his cheeks like a river. Feeling his knees wobble, but he stayed strong, “I like you, Daichi Sawamura. I like you, love even!” He confessed, the setter’s voice echoing in the closed-off gym. Daichi was silent. “From the moment we met, I knew there was something, just…something about this boy that lured me in. It could’ve been your determination, your looks…everything! But after hearing your small confession about liking Michimiya-san and_ confessing _to her in general…it broke me.”_

_Sugawara looked down, unable to meet the other male’s eyes. He counted the seconds of silence between them._

_1…_

_2…_

_6…_

_14…_

_23 fucking seconds before he heard that deep, masculine voice again._

_“Sugawara, I’m sorry but I don’t feel the same.”_

_This made Sugawara look up with a dejected expression. He knew already, even with all his fantasies and hopes, he already knew._

_“You’re only a friend to me – maybe even a brother, Suga.” Daichi turned around and began walking away, “And I think that’s all we’re ever going to be.”_

_Then, he broke down._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos! The angst is still coming up so I *highly* suggest bookmarking/marking this fic for later >:3


	5. Tooru Oikawa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapters are going to be *hopefully* uploaded every 5-6 days at the most. If I can't yeet enough time into my schedule, then probably a week is the latest~ Thank you for reading!

* * *

**After three years, he’s back.**

**Everything seems so strange to him.**

**Yet at the same time, it felt oh so familiar.**

* * *

Oikawa ran a hand through his shorter, but still bouncy hair.

He stood outside the colourful elementary school to pick up his nephew, however, it seemed like he’d gotten the times wrong for nobody had come out of the school yet.

Sitting down on the nearby bench underneath the cherry blossoms and closed his eyes, inhaling that Japanese scent of the cherry blossoms that he’d miss so much. A slight breeze gracefully tossed his hair about.

After three years of playing overseas for the national team of Rio, Oikawa had developed a new sense of maturity; both physically and mentally. His skin was beautifully tanned and his hair had gotten a darker shade due to the sun’s hazardous rays.

If Oikawa was good-looking back in high-school, his adult-self was the whole new level of beauty.

With a well-defined jawline, toned muscles and a teasing, yet natural smirk, the twenty-three-year-old male was able to turn heads twice whenever he walked on the streets.

Light, soft petals landed on his broad shoulders. He opened up his eyes and reached over to pick them off of him, a small nostalgic smile appearing on his face.

Although it’s been years since the tall male couldn’t help but wonder what could have happened if it was him instead of his very best friend. Would he have moved on as easily as he did? Or would he destroy his own life to match what happened to him? A small sigh left the male.

In tranquil silence, besides the occasional traffic road rages and passing cars, Oikawa began to think about all the events that had happened to him. Inhaling through his nose and exhaling a long stream of breath, Oikawa could feel his body relax from all the tension and pressure from playing volleyball too much.

Yes, going pro was an exciting opportunity granted to him, but it came with so little breaks. The player didn’t necessarily have to be Paolo to give him a year off of volleyball.

The middle-aged man was pretty accepting of the matter; setters had the most mentally and physically draining position on the court. Letting this high-school prodigy take a break might help further improve his skills.

Oikawa smiled at how lucky he was to be able to have been scouted by such a kind – and very intelligent – man.

* * *

Suddenly, a loud chime of bells ringing came from the school, making Oikawa drop the small, singular petal and stand up. Dusting off the remaining ones off of him, he watched streams of little children rush past him.

Many young girls blushed when they saw him and quickly ran away, giggling to her friends about how handsome that man was.

Most male students looked him up and down and whispered to each other, trying to decipher what type of sport this man played. He was obviously athletically built to play on some kind of professional team.

Oikawa just placed on a kind smile and waved to the kids, occasionally releasing a polite “Hello!” or “I hope you’re doing well!” He also had to be careful as to not trample over any of their tiny figures. Of course, the young students were only up to his belly button, but still; they were still _pretty_ small.

After a few minutes of searching through the sea of white uniforms and never noticing his nephew anywhere on the way out, Oikawa raised a questioning eyebrow and proceeded to walk inside the school.

* * *

As he looked down at the younger boy, who was wearing such a large smile on his adorable, yet playful face, Oikawa couldn’t help but feel low-key scared.

Stepping inside the school and everything that had happened next were all mushed together in a blur.

First, Oikawa was being dragged down by a small boy – who happened to be the boy he was looking for – by the wrist, almost knocking him off-balance.

Secondly, he was pushed into a quiet and tidy classroom, neatly decorated and organized.

Third, he finally spotted the teacher whom Takeru had talked non-stop about.

“Sugawara-sensei, please meet my Uncle Tooru!” Takeru repeatedly pulled on his uncle’s arm, as one would do with a train whistle.

The grey-haired male turned around from his pile of classroom work and smiled warmly at the two. However, his eyes widened the moment he made eye-contact with the taller one. Standing up, Sugawara walked from his desk over to the duo, hands clamped together.

Oikawa smiled and straightened his posture, bowing a bit towards Sugawara, “Good evening, Sugawara- _sensei._ ” A mischievous smirk rose on his lips; the same happened with the latter.

“Nice to meet you, _Uncle Tooru,_ once more.”

Takeru looked at the two males with a confused expression. Letting go of his uncle’s wrist, he crossed an arm across his chest and placed his index finger on his chin in a thoughtful position. “Have you two met before?”

“Yes.”  
“Uh-huh.” 

The two older males stared at each other before releasing a chuckle on both ends, reliving sort-of hidden stress between them. Takeru just raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders, already used to the fact that both his teacher and uncle were weird people.

* * *

Adjusting the boy’s weight on his shoulders, Oikawa used his free hand to wave good-bye to the teacher, who waved back. Turning around, Takeru hummed and crossed his arms and rested them on his uncle’s head.

Feeling this, Oikawa looked up. “What’s buggin’ ya, Takeru?”

The smaller male made a small noise, “I dunno…Uncle Tooru?”

“Yeah?” Oikawa stopped at the red light of the cross-walk. Crowds of people were surrounding them now, so Oikawa had to raise his voice just a bit. Takeru didn’t say anything; he waited until they were free on the side-walk themselves.

“Uncle Tooru…I noticed something.” Takeru said with a cautious tone. Oikawa furrowed his eyebrows and pouted.

“What did you notice? That I’m an amazing uncle?” The two chuckled a bit.

Takeru’s chuckle died down before speaking in a quiet voice. “That was pretty lame, but no.”

“Ouch…”

“Uncle Tooru…do you still like Iwa-san?”

Oikawa stopped in front of a small café and looked at his reflection in the window. Sensing Takeru’s quietness, he spotted that the boy had fallen asleep on his back.

The adult bit his lips in deep thought. “I’m not so sure anymore, Takeru…”

* * *

_Before graduation, the Aoba Johsai Volleyball Club had arranged a small get-together and barbeque. Everyone from the school and surrounding areas were invited, not only the volleyball members._

_The young male nudged his spiky-haired friend, “Iwa-chan, come on! Stop sulking, it’s not our fault we couldn’t make it to Nationals.” He laughed and handed the other male a red solo cup full of juice. “Those damned crows just grew their wings and flew away from us.”_

_Iwaizumi looked to his right and watched the taller male chug down his solo cup, releasing a satisfied gasp as at the end. He stared into the purple liquid, feeling the self-doubt rise in him._

_He felt movement beside him and noticed Oikawa had taken one of the chairs and was now standing on top of the seat. The shorter male’s eyes widened as he realized what Oikawa was going to do, but was far too late when the male began speaking._

_“‘I should’ve done better’ is that what you’re thinking right now, huh?” Oikawa’s booming voice echoed throughout the gym._

_All eyes were on him: the players, the coaches, some family members, and the club’s supporters._

_“‘We should’ve gone to nationals instead if those pesky crows hadn’t shown up.’” His rant became a bit louder now. “Those are what you’re all thinking. But think this now, are you happy with how you played? Are you happy at how much you supported us throughout these years? Are you satisfied-”_

_“With your care?” Hanamakki piped up, only to be clobbered into silence by his surrounding volleyball teammates._

_“You’ve been a good boy, have a lollipop,” Matsukawa added, exaggerating by petting Kyoutani’s head; the wing-spiker glared so murderously at his upperclassmen that Yahaba had to drag him out of the gym._

_The two clowns gave each other a knowing look and a low high-five once they were gone._

_A laugh escaped the tensed-up room from the duo’s stupid antics. Iwaizumi shook his head towards his fellow third-years._

_The one standing on the chair chuckled a bit as well, before continuing._

_“These past three years, you all have supported not only the volleyball club but also us; its members. Without all your help and support, I’m not sure if the name ‘Seijoh’ would strike fear into other teams’ hearts and make us one of the few powerhouses in Miyagi. With my role as Captain of the Aoba Johsai Volleyball Club and on behalf of everyone on the team, thank you very much for these amazing three years!”_

_Oikawa stepped down from his chair, planted his hands to his sides, and bowed a full 90 degrees angle; a bow full of respect._

_A stunned silence maintained in the room before it was broken by a large wave of applause and cheering. Iwaizumi’s eyes began to waver as he looked away, rubbing at his eyes to hide his building admiration for the male._

_Almost instantly after rising from his bow, Oikawa was engulfed into a very tight embrace by his fellow teammates. From Watari, all the way to Kindaichi, each one of them was crying or had cried already. With a shaky breath, Oikawa released a relieved breath and laughed._

* * *

_“That was some stunt you pulled, Shittykawa.” Iwaizumi stated, breaking the quiet atmosphere between the two of them._

_The party had ended an hour after Oikawa’s small speech, but everyone was happy with their contributions; not one person had left without a small fire burning in their heart for the next coming years of what Aoba Johsai’s Volleyball Club had to bring._

_Oikawa was about to open his mouth to retort however, Iwaizumi just held up his hand to silence him. Stopping in his tracks to face the male straight in the eye, he released a shaky breath. “That…was an amazing speech though…I’m proud of you.”_

_Like an excited puppy, Oikawa perked up and laughed, “Aww, Iwa-chan’s proud of me!”_

_Not sure if it was only from his perspective, but the shorter male noticed that the moonlight was perfectly illuminating the smiling male’s face. If it was even possible, Oikawa had looked far more beautiful now than any time he’d seen him before._

_Iwaizumi blinked before shaking his head in frustration, “Ugh, you know what…fuck it.”_

_Oikawa stopped laughing and looked at Iwaizumi with a confused expression. “What do you-” His sentence was cut short by soft lips on his._

_Oikawa had been dreaming of this moment for as long as his last year in middle school._

_Feeling a smile grow on his face, he cupped the other male’s cheeks and kissed him back._

_“Iwa-chan…”_

_“Stupidkawa, you made me feel this way. Your shitty self just makes my heart beat so fast that I feel like I’m having a heart attack. Just your smile makes me want to sink onto the floor and stare at it all day.” The spiky-haired boy groaned and snapped his head to look up at the latter, “I fucking love you, Tooru Oikawa. Ever since we were kids, I always have.”_

_Oikawa felt his eyes watering up in happiness, and without a second thought, pulled Iwaizumi into another kiss, a quicker one, but with more passion. After pulling apart, Oikawa rested his forehead on Iwaizumi’s, “I’ve loved you for so long too, Hajime Iwaizumi.”_

_But just like that, that small bubble of affection for one another was instantly popped._

_Too many things happened at the time._

_Oikawa heard a loud honk, Iwaizumi yelling his name, and sounds of bones cracking. His body was pushed away and into the hard stone wall of a house, the back of his head making contact with it._

_Black spots appeared in his eyes, but before he could blackout_ _, he looked up and saw Iwaizumi._

_The male was lying facefirst on the side-walk, unmoving, with a growing pool of blood surrounding him._

_“Iwa…chan?” Oikawa managed to say those final words before completely losing consciousness._


	6. Koushi Sugawara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you soo much for the support and kudos!

* * *

**Bzzz.**

**Bzzzz.**

**Bzzzzz.**

* * *

Sugawara felt his phone buzzing in his back pocket.

He was in the middle of sipping his tea and correcting his student’s homework when the traitorous gadget he had interrupted his moment of peace.

With a sigh, the teacher placed down his mug and pen. Then, he reached into his pocket and opened the Messages app, trying to finding out who had texted him.

* * *

** Oikawa-san: ** **Hey.**

 ** Oikawa-san: ** **Takeru has Volleyball Class at 15:00.**

 ** Oikawa-san: ** **Was wondering if you wanna come?**

* * *

He was at a café that was highly favoured by his fellow teachers and if he was being really honest with himself, he was surprised at how delicious they made their pastries.

A few weeks ago, Sugawara had met with Takeru’s uncle which turned out to be his former-volleyball team’s arch-rival’s captain. Phone numbers and addresses were exchanged so they can keep up with one another.

The grey-haired male smiled softly to himself, texting back to the male:

* * *

** Sugawara: ** **Sure. UwU**

 ** Sugawara: ** **Hit me with the location.**

* * *

He placed his phone on the circular brown table and observed the cozy, yet seemingly large café.

It was coloured in cute pastel colours. Beanbags, sofas, lawn chairs, and normal tables were scattered around the room. Sugawara took a sip of his tea, admiring the environment he was in at the moment.

At the front counters, a small girl and what seems to be her elder sister were ordering two bags of pastries plus two medium-sized slushies.

An elderly woman was knitting what seemed to be a scarf.

A couple were giggling and talking to each other in hushed voices.

Two parents were watching over their kids while having a quiet conversation amongst themselves.

Then he felt another buzz in his pocket.

* * *

** Oikawa-san: ** **It’s the open rec spot near Seijoh**

 ** Oikawa-san: ** **That by-pass bridge thingy**

 ** Oikawa-san: ** **See ya!!~ >w<**

* * *

Sugawara raised an eyebrow at Oikawa’s choice of words. It was so _very_ specific.

He chuckled to himself and stood up.

Quickly gathering his small backpack and tossing all the homework that needed to be corrected later, the male left the café.

(Of course, he did go back and left a hearty amount of tips to the waitress when she stopped by and thanked him for coming. And obviously, he would come back to this place, who wouldn’t? They had such adorable and comfortable decorations.)

Once he stepped outside, Sugawara opened up the maps application on his phone and typed down the directions to go there. With a satisfied hum, he placed the phone back into his front jeans pocket and jogged to the closest train station, a cup of tea in hand.

It would probably take him 2 hours at most just to reach the school, maybe an additional 10 minutes just to find the right area.

Sugawara flinched as a far-off memory began stirring in his mind, but continued running until he reached the station.

After securing a good spot on the train, he looked out its wide and open windows. By staring outside, the young teacher was allowing his brain to replay his life. Almost like a movie, Sugawara could clearly see through the eyes of his younger self.

* * *

_“So exactly what are you up to?” A slithery voice caused dread to weigh upon the high schooler’s shoulders._

_He stopped in the middle of his writing and turned around to only meet face-to-face with his older cousin. “I’m writing,” he blinked._

_Snarling, she almost reached out to grab what he was writing, but Sugawara quickly stopped her with an “It’s for you.” The cousin paused in mid-reach._

_“What do you mean, ‘It’s for me’?” She shot an incredulous look towards the younger boy. “Some kind of shitty letter, I’d bet. But tell me, is it just for me or is it for the rest of the bastards here?”_

_Sugawara had gotten used to this cousin’s colourful vocabulary ever since he arrived at this hell-hole. Knowing what he was writing about, he replied with a shake of his head, “No, just for you.”_

_“Huh,” a pleased smirk rose on her face, “am I your favourite, then, shrimp?”_

_He stared at her, not knowing how to respond. The cousin didn’t care or waited for an answer anyways; she just left him alone in that small ‘room’ to finish his letter._

_Releasing a relieved sigh, Sugawara glanced down at the first notebook he was writing in: the notebook explaining about his years living with his cousins and his previous lives._

_The moment his cousin opened the closet door, Sugawara had instantly covered it up with the large binder full of loose pieces of paper that he always had by his side. He had trained himself to listen and instinctively feel whenever someone was coming close to his room ever since he was still in middle school._

_This intuition of his helped the boy to avoid dangerous outcomes._

_Keeping secrets from the people around him was risky, but them finding out what exactly he was writing was far more hazardous._

_From the time when he had five notebooks he’d bought those years ago, Sugawara had to make a choice: Either use all the notebooks for different styles of writing/topics, or write in them daily and use them all in less than 3 years._

_Obviously, Sugawara chose the first option._

_Like it was stated before, Notebook #1 held all his personal past life moments. Everything from the moment he was born and his first beating from his father, to the final year of high-school and his decision to run-away as soon as he graduated. (However, his decision was still a work in progress; he still needed to wait for spring.)_

_Notebook #2 contained his hopes and dreams for his future. It contained his hopes to teach younger students in an elementary school. Sugawara wanted to meet new people and see where the world could take him…since his cousins and uncle barely allowed the grey-haired male to leave the house on the weekends. They only allowed him to roam freely only for school and shopping for a maximum of 2 hours._

_Notebook #3 was his free-write notebook. There was barely a main topic for Sugawara just wrote whatever he wanted in it; very confusing to the outsider’s eye, but it made perfect sense to those who actually spend hours trying to decipher the meaning behind the scribbles and non-sense writing. This notebook was his only ‘fun’._

_Notebook #4 was for his future; once he had grown up and done all his interests. It would contain all the partners and significant others he has/had. Schedules of his current occupation would be scribbled in the margin; the notebook was planned ahead of time just in case he was still writing in them. Though, at the moment, it was empty. He hasn’t quite reached that part of his life._

_And finally, Notebook #5…it was the hardest to find. Even though he was inside a very cramped spot, this notebook was the hardest to find out of the other notebooks. And it was hidden well for it held the darkest parts of his life; it held his suicidal thoughts and previous attempts. He wrote down every self-destructive word his cousins, uncle, parents, bullies, and hell, even he, had said._

_Nobody even knows he has these notebooks, and Sugawara wanted to keep it that way._

_He was writing down in his first notebook when she intruded._

_However, he didn’t lie about it being for her; it was._

_Sugawara, in his final year of high school, was writing his running away letter to everyone he’d ever known._

* * *

The train stopped with a sudden jolt, shaking the male out of his trance. Crowds of people began moving; almost crushing his legs as they forcibly began pushing against each other.

Sugawara glanced down at his watch.

**14:36**

“Less than half an hour left…hmm…” He looked up and saw that there were barely any people left on the train. “I guess I’d better get off too, then.”

* * *

“Sugawara-senpai!” A loud obnoxious voice rang in the grey-haired ears. He had called ahead for a ride and it turned out Hinata was the only one available. Sugawara had completely forgotten Hinata was the eldest out of the first-years; of course, he’d have his license already.

“Hinata, you’ve grown so much!” Sugawara complimented, chuckling a bit at the unchanged childish behaviour of the boy. Then he noticed two other people in the car as he hopped into the passenger seat. “Yamaguchi….and is that you, Yachi?”

The previous volleyball player was impressed by how much his underclassmen had matured.

Yamaguchi had grown out his hair and tied it into a bun, but unlike Asahi’s bun, it was smaller and some of his hair was still lying on his neck. His freckles were slowly disappearing and the current captain’s face and body were finely defined.

Beside him was a beautiful woman with shining elbow-length dandelion hair. Sugawara had to admit, he did feel a sense of attraction to the manager, even if he was gay. Her beauty could make any person’s heartbeat twice as fast.

As Sugawara watched the two, he could clearly tell they’re either dating each other or just very close friends. Slowly easing into the quiet conversation of how they were doing with their lives, he brought up the topic.

Yachi blushed furiously and covered her face with her hands; Yamaguchi chuckled sheepishly. “Is it that obvious?”

Hinata let out a teasing laugh and turned his head around quickly just to stick out a playful tongue. “Even Kageyama could see that! You guys aren’t really keeping anyone in the dark.”

“Well, it’s easy for you to say, Hinata!” Yachi stated, still with a bit of red on her cheeks. She was reaching towards the middle to lightly punch the driver in the arm. “You’re basically dating a millionaire! A famous one at that.”

Sugawara’s eyes widened at this fact “Wait. Hold the conversation, who are you dating Hinata?”

A mischievous glint shone in the boy’s eyes, something that happened whenever Hinata knew something, nobody else did.

Like the others, the spiker had matured very nicely as well. Yes, he was still short, but he was rapidly growing now. His muscles were pleasantly toned and his hair was cut a bit shorter than before. The boy’s skin was slightly tanner than the rest, almost like Kageyama’s. It was obvious he was practicing more in the sun than before.

“I’d like _you_ to guess, Sugawara-senpai.”

The teacher gave Hinata a look before chuckling and played along. “Is it someone we know?”

Hinata nodded.

“We’ve played against?” Again, Hinata gave another nod.

“Either before or during nationals?”

“During Nationals.”

Sugawara pouted and crossed his arms, seriously thinking of all the people who it could be when Hinata suddenly spoke.

“He has blonde hair and is a setter for a powerhouse school.”

Snapping his fingers, Sugawara gasped, “It’s not one of the Miya Twins, is it?”

A quiet silence roared in the car.

Sugawara almost began to suspect it was true when it was broken with the three third-years laughing.

The oldest one wiped away a tear and shook his head. “No, it’s not 'Tsumu, although he did try.” Yamaguchi nodded.

Yachi agreed, “He wasn’t successful, unfortunately,” still giggling a bit.

“It’s Kenma, Nekoma’s previous setter.” He shot his upperclassman a side-ways look.

Gasping and placing his hands over his mouth, Sugawara looked at Hinata like he’d grown two heads. “No way, is it really?”

The male beside him chuckled and nodded towards his phone. Sugawara took the hint and turned it on. Almost in disbelief, Sugawara stared at the wallpaper. True to the third years’ words; the background was a picture of Hinata and the setter of Nekoma.

Hinata being kissed on the cheek by the blonde boy in the picture, obviously thrilled by this show of affection; Kenma had a small dust of pink of his cheeks, but his smile in the kiss was radiated his love for the latter. The cherry blossoms were decorating their hair with the petals, so it must have been Kenma’s final year in high-school: exactly just last year. 

Both seemed to be head-over-heels for one another; almost like they were…married.

Something clicked in Sugawara’s brain.

Sugawara turned off the phone and looked at Hinata with a face full of seriousness, “Say…when’s the wedding for Daichi and Yui?”

Yamaguchi turned on his own phone and tapped his upperclassmen by the shoulder. Once Sugawara turned around, Yamaguchi handed his own phone over to him.

It was an email sent from Daichi, an email from almost two weeks ago; exactly when he reunited with Oikawa.

“They said they were delaying the wedding because something happened in their relationship that made Michimiya-san to cancel the previous wedding plan. Now, since they were to fix themselves out, Daichi-san and Michimiya-san are planning their wedding three months and seven days from now.”

A quiet sigh left the pink lips of the teacher.

Maybe the two past-captains weren’t meant to be together after all.

But something was wrong with this…why isn’t he feeling a sense of relief of hearing their relationship having issues?

Instead, …why was he _finally_ feeling _happy_ for them?

  
  
  
  



	7. Tooru Oikawa

* * *

**Receive.**

**Toss.**

**Spike.**

* * *

A pleasant smile seated itself on the pink lips of the setter as he watched the group of children executing the skills needed to play. They were learning pretty fast for a group of seven to eleven-year-olds. He was helping out at Takeru’s Little Tykes Volleyball Class. Well, in all honesty, he has been helping out since high school. 

The moment the organizers heard he was coming back to their parts and instantly invited him to teach the younger ones, the male just couldn’t bring himself say no; especially as the tanned overseas player was gaining more and more fame as the ‘Brazilian Setter from Japan.’ Looking down at his phone, Oikawa heard a quiet rumble behind him. Slightly turning his head behind him, he spotted the setter he was waiting for. “Yoo-hoo!” He slurred whilst waving his hand in the air to gain the grey-haired attention.

Sugawara looked up from thanking Hinata and the rest for the ride. A small smile appeared on the male’s face; waving back he called, “Just a minute!”

Oikawa gave him a thumbs-up with a great big smile. Feeling someone pull on the hem of his shirt, he looked down and saw a small girl, someone quite close to tears. He kneeled to match eye-levels with her. “Hey,” he began in the most comforting voice he could muster, “What’s wrong?”

“T-the ball won’t g-go to the spot I-I set it to! It-it’s not listening to m-me.” The little girl choked out while hugging the volleyball close to her chest for comfort.

He looked at her with sympathy and lightly patted her shoulder, causing the young figure to look up at him. Oikawa placed on the largest smile he could muster, “That’s why I’m here to help! I’ll make sure that volleyball listens to you, what d’you say?”

Yes, it was a silly plan; but these are small children we’re talking about. Make them overcome their superiority complex and you are good to go….well, most of them.

* * *

A laugh came from behind him. Shooting his head behind him, he saw that four kids were already clinging onto the grey-haired leg. The small girl’s eyes brightened and ran towards him as well, which now made it five small children on his leg.

Sugawara shot Oikawa a look through the laughter. Nodding, the latter clapped his hands and stood up straight. “Alright! Meet your second teacher, Sugawara-sensei. Be nice and show some good manners.”

Like ants coming down from an anthill, the children all came crawling off from their teacher, lined up in a line beside Oikawa, and bowed amongst the other kids. Sugawara chuckled and bowed right back, “Thank you for having me.”

And once they all looked up, the two males’ eyes met for a small second.

Though it may seem like a small glance, for Oikawa, it suddenly felt like all of eternity.

* * *

“Thank you very much for teaching us Oikawa-sensei and Sugawara-sensei!”

The setting sun was hovering over the horizon, tainting the skies beautiful blends of orange, red, and purple. Long outstretched shadows were formed on the dispersing group of children and their two mentors.

Once he was done evaluating with the last child and her setting techniques, hands on his knees to match eye-level, Sugawara bid her good-bye and took the volleyball from her hands. Propping it upon his hip, he turned around and smirked at Oikawa. “Wow, who knew you could teach that well?”

The mentioned male was clearing up the area, putting the rogue volleyballs into the bag and wrapping up the net and throwing it into the designated box for volleyball equipment. He quirked an eyebrow after hearing that comment from his companion; a fake gasp left his lips as he placed a hand on his chest like he was gripping onto his heart.

“Ouch, I’m hurt, Sugawara-san.”

Sugawara just rolled his warm brown eyes and hugged the blue and yellow Mikasa ball in his arms. An eyebrow arched from the other male’s silliness.

He sighed and shook his head, waving his hand up and down. “I’ve been doing this ever since my second year of high school. The organizers heard of my stay here in Japan and asked if I could teach once more here.”

“And you obviously accepted,” Sugawara began with a questioning tone, “Yet, why’d you choose me to help you? You’re obviously the better setter.”

Rubbing the back of his neck in a somewhat sheepish matter, a small blush scattered itself onto Oikawa’s cheeks. He looked down in embarrassment, hoping to hide his growing blush. As flirty as he was, he was so quick to fluster whenever he felt an actual attraction to someone.

“Actually…” Swallowing his embarrassment, “I was thinking if I could ask you out afterwards…”

Sugawara stopped in his tracks to put away the volleyball and looked at the male, wide eyes and blushing face. “Excuse me?”

Oikawa cleared his throat and approached the shorter male, getting close enough he could feel the latter’s body heat. Speaking softly, the words were repeated. “I was thinking if I could ask you out afterwards.”

And just like that, Sugawara’s face exploded with red.

* * *

_“Say, Iwa-chan, if you were to go on a date with anyone, where would you go?” A young elementary school boy asked his best friend._

_They were on the side of a creek, covered by a forest of trees and other vegetation. The two children’s “secret spot” as they call it._

_An exasperated grunt was the only response given._

_The other small boy with him named ‘Iwa-chan’ was covered in mud and scrapes, obviously from crawling around on the ground and climbing the trees, in search of one of the beetles he was going to keep for his collection._

_Little brown hair played with the stick he’d broken off and drew in the rocks with it. “If I were going to date someone, Iwa-chan, I’d bring ‘em to the most beauuuuutiful and very popular spot! Everyone loves beautiful and popular things, right, Iwa-chan?”_

_Silence._

_Furrowing his tiny eyebrows, the boy asked again, “Iwa-chan…?” He slowly turned around. Expecting a spiky black-haired boy with squinted, determined eyes, of course, he was going to lose his shit once he realized that it wasn’t what he expected._

_A guttural scream left the brown boy’s lips as he jolted into the air and scooted far away from the large blue beetle Iwa-chan was holding in his tiny hands. A cheerful and somewhat evil laugh left the younger male’s lips._

_“You’re so easy to scare, Trashykawa!” He pointed an accusing finger to the flushed male, who was currently hugging himself on the side of the creek._

_Leaning down on and opening the glass jar he’d brought with them, he gently placed his newly captured specimen inside its new home. Closing the lid tightly and checking if the holes were enough for the bug, Iwa-chan sat down beside his friend and showed him the bug once more, but this time, a glassy transparent container shielding all contact of the older of the two._

_“So, what do you think of him? I wanna take him home but do ya think Mom will let me?”_

_Raising a stubborn nose in the air, Trashykawa crossed his arms and shut his eyes, “Hmph, how should I know…” A groan came from his left, causing a small smile to crack on his lips. “…but she might.”_

_Fully opening his eyes they met dark ones. He stifled another urge to scream at their closeness._

_“Do you really think so?” Hope-filled delight tainted the boy’s sentence._

_The brown-haired one shrugged and smiled at his best friend. Iwa-chan pulled away and looked down at his new pet, a wavy smile resting on his face. Seeing him like that caused something to pound within Trashykawa’s chest. A new profound feeling that he’d never felt to anyone except for Iwa-chan._

_Am I sick? But I don’t feel sick anywhere else…except when I’m around Iwa-Chan. The young boy drifted his gaze to the giggling boy beside him and an unconscious smile ghosted his lips._

_His eyes widened as he looked away, his face growing warmer and warmer._

* * *

Surrounded by the delicious aroma of pastries and hot drinks, a couple of customers were highly enjoying themselves. Both were seated upon the beanbags the café had sprawled about everywhere with a small mahogany circular coffee table between them. There were barely any people inside the café. The occasional waitress, college student study group, and young high school couples were the only people that were seen aside from the duo.

A longing look clouded the tanned male’s eyes. Just watching Sugawara burst out in hysterical fits of laughter was a melody in the listener’s ears. He watched as small streams of tears left his eyes as the grey-haired male wiped them away from his eyes.

Oikawa had brought Sugawara to the small, yet cozy and cute, café the other male had been suggesting to go to. And he was very glad his acquaintance had brought him to such an amazing place; the places he wanted to go to were either closing up for the night or had already been closed.

The small café they were currently staying at that Sugawara had recommended was open until midnight: 4 hours before its doors were closed to the public for the night. It had taken them at least 2 hours to get back from the Miyagi prefecture and back to the city of Tokyo.

“Thanks for having me teach with you, Oikaw…” He paused when Oikawa held his hand up.

“Call me, Tooru. It’s getting awkward just calling each other by last names now that we’re literally BFFs now, right?” A loud sip from his tea expressed his comfort around the other male.

Sugawara blinked at the male’s comment before smiling and raised his cup to his lips, taking a small sip. Releasing a satisfied exhale, he looked at him through his eyelashes. “I guess it’s safe to say we’re on a first-name basis now, huh, _Tooru?_ ”

“I guess we are,” Oikawa winked a flirtatiously at the handsome man in front of him, “ _Koushi_.”

The elementary teacher blushed a bit and lifted his cup, hoping to hide the bashful warmth. Oikawa chuckled at the cute reaction he was so blessed to watch unfold before him and sighed, resting his right cheek on his hand. Playing with the rim of the coffee he had bought, he couldn’t help but notice the smaller details he hadn’t had the chance to notice before on the male.

He didn’t see the dark, thick eyelashes. Nor did he saw the tiny little dimple on Sugawara’s left cheek whenever he smiled. However, he also noticed a few other details that didn’t make the other male less beautiful, but rather concerning for Oikawa. He spotted the small, yet deep scar running down his sideburn to his jawbone, that weary and cautious look in his eye, and what seemed to be a swollen part of his lip that was invisible to those from a far distance.

* * *

Their quiet conversations slowly came to an end; a comfortable silence soon hugged the two in a tight embrace. No words were said but the two already knew: something beautiful and lovely was blossoming between them.

It would be a shame if it were all to end, oh, so quickly.

It would, wouldn’t it?

Oikawa looked at the dark skies outside the café’s large windows. The stars were shining beautifully during their drive back (courtesy of Oikawa) to Tokyo, but now that they were simply in the heart of the city, the tiny balls of gas in the night skies were masked by the city lights. 

A solemn sigh left his lips as he brought his attention back to the cardboard cup of tea he was holding in his two hands. 

_I’m sorry Iwa-chan…but it turns out that_ I’m _the one breaking the promise we made after all. Please forgive me._


	8. Koushi Sugawara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter than usual, sorry! But the next chapters (which are the final 3) will be much longer, I promise~

* * *

**They found him.**

**After 4 long years, they finally found him.**

**But how did they?**

* * *

Sugawara stepped out in front of the grocery store’s exit doors and froze in place the moment he did.

The sky was turning a beautiful blended shade of purple and pink. Long shadows cast on the cement and the city lights were brighter than ever tonight. Tokyo was a very populated area, it was close to impossible when trying to find one specific person. Especially if that person had grown up and matured quite drastically over the past years. His mind whirred of all the possibilities of what they were going to do with him; he did after all run away right after his third year of high school and just after Nationals.

Still in shock, the smallest white bag in his hands fell onto the cement. An apple rolled out. Brown eyes met with those of three people. His eyes wavered in and out of consciousness as he unconsciously began trembling in fear.

Eyeing him down like a meal were two middle-aged women and an ageing older man. Conceited smirks slowly rose on their faces. They stalked towards him, spreading out as they did.

A snobbish cackle left the lips of the older one of the two women, sending an electric shock down the grey-haired male’s spine.

She was dressed very poorly; people thought she was a prostitute of some kind by the way she was dressed. Beads of pearls decorated her long, skinny neck and sapphire earrings donned her earlobes. (Though, it was quite obvious both jewelry pieces were fakes.) Her dress was layered with many light scarves, all in different colours.

It was as if someone used the confetti tails of pony piñatas and sewn them all together to create this dress. The dress itself was an eyesore not only because of its many colours but its length. Sugawara hoped the woman had not been bending forward lately; the neck part was so deep, it almost showed some of her stomach and the dress stopped mid-thigh.

Just then, the sliding doors opened behind the trembling figure. It revealed a handsome brown-haired male holding a rather large rectangular box. He stood beside him and lowered the box a bit, surprised to see Sugawara wasn’t moving. Oikawa quirked an eyebrow up and leaned down.

“Koushi…Koushi, are you alright?” Oikawa had to mentally kick himself; obviously he wasn’t. Then he noticed how wide his eyes were as he stared at the small group. The taller male frowned and asked again. “Who are-?”

He was cut off by the second woman’s giggle. Unlike the other female amongst them, she was dress far more decently and appropriately. She had a floor-length yellow sunflower dress that seemed to be rippling in the slight breeze. However, even though she was obviously prettier and well-dressed than the other girl, the sunflower dress’ heart held the same cruelty as she did of her sister and father.

She snickered and pretended to be surprised by putting a dramatic hand on her chest. “Aw, has my little _Koushi_ stooped down so low that he’s become a _fuck-toy_ for _dicks_?”

Both males standing in front of the store went idle.

The trio laughed similar to hyenas and surrounded them even more, throwing insult after insult as the small space between them tightened. Oikawa watched Sugawara’s hands grip onto the bags’ handles tighter until his knuckles turned white. His grey hair fell over his face, casting a shadow to appear on his eyes. Sugawara knew those insults were mainly targeted towards him, just as they always have.

Bystanders near the scene either fled or crowded around to watch and see what happens. Oikawa scowled inwardly. _‘Bastards, can’t y’all see that we’re busy here?’_ Gently placing down the large box on the cemented floor beside his foot, he took a step forward, a dangerous aura radiating off of him. The bystanders began whispering amongst themselves, no doubt recalling who this person was from the Olympics: The Japanese Setter of Brazil.

“Just who do ya think you are, lady? What’s your problem with my boyfriend?” Oikawa demanded. “Cause, if you do, I’ll be more than happy to deal with that bitch-ass face of yours.”

“Tooru,” Sugawara grabbed his arm, forcing the taller to look at him. Oikawa looked at him with wide eyes: Sugawara was smiling. Despite the insults, Sugawara was still smiling. “I’ll be fine. Go on home, I’ll follow soon enough.”

Oikawa scowled at his passiveness and placed his hands on Sugawara’s shoulders, slightly shaking him. “No! I’m not just goin’ to stand by and watch them hurt you!”

The one being shaken only kept smiling and gently removed his boyfriend’s hands from his shoulders. He squatted and picked up the small white grocery bag he’d dropped and placed it on the large box. Then, using the masculine strength he has, Sugawara picked up the box and handed it over to him. “I’ll see you soon, Tooru.”

Hesitantly, Oikawa took the box away from Sugawara. A longing look passed on his face as he began walking away, taking occasional glances behind him. Sugawara waited until Oikawa had gone round the corner before facing the demons that made his life a living hell.

“Welcome to Tokyo, my _dear family._ ”

* * *

It happened so quickly, Sugawara could only recall bits and pieces of the event.

All he could remember was red splattered cement, torn pieces of fabric, and constant yelling and pain. Who would paint ordinary grey cement red?

But right now, the liquid the white-coated people had inserted into his veins was putting him to sleep. Muffled, high-pitched sirens were in the background of his hearing, along with someone yelling his name. Who exactly was yelling, Sugawara didn’t know.

He was getting sleepy though.

A yawn left his lips.

Maybe next time he’ll be able to think about it, right after he wakes up.


	9. Busy Days; Lonesome Nights Epilogue {1/3}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first of the three part conclusion to this story. We'll be joining Oikawa as he remembers the aftermath of the vehicle collision that involved his previous partner, Iwaizumi.

* * *

**There’s no such thing as “Goodbye” or “See You Later”.**

**You’ll either see them again sometime in the future, or never at all.**

**Maybe that’s why people have such busy days; and such lonesome nights.**

* * *

_Like a trapped animal stuck in a cage, not knowing that was waiting for him behind the drooped curtain above it, Oikawa being worried was an understatement. He was a complete wreck. The perfectly combed brown locks on his head were tussled and turned over. His bloodshot rimmed eyes were given an even wilder look due to that. It had been an agonizing week and still the person he loved so dearly had not woken up; nor had he moved a single finger._

_Everyone around him: friends, family, and his teammates were very worried about the male. The setter’s usually positive and outgoing attitude had disappeared and was now replaced with a far more depressing and easy agitated personality. It was on rare occasions they would ever see this side of him – it happened right after his ex-girlfriend had broken up with him for his love of volleyball. Oikawa was, and still is, very traumatized by the fact people he loved so dearly will be taken away or start distancing themselves from him for his interest in the ball sport._

_Trying to talk him out of his room was a near impossible task – animals talking like regular human beings seemed entirely possible compared to this._

_Whenever one would try to talk to him and persuade the male, they would be met with either eerie silence, or, at the worst, a long string of unfiltered words. Soon after, Oikawa would realize what he’d said to that person and would usually be end up in a hysterical crying fit as he was reminded how his beloved used to do the same for him. These pathetic sobbing fits would continue from hours on end._

_The only people Oikawa had opened his door for were his mother and his two closest friends that were third-years like him. Everyone else was left in the dark, for no one really knew the whole situation behind the shut closed doors._

_Hanamakki and Matsukawa would deliver the assignments and year-end homework to their Captain. They would often linger about a bit longer to make sure Oikawa was doing as well as a person who was so severely traumatized of what happened to the person they loved so much can be. And to help boost Oikawa’s deflated spirits even just a tiny little bit. They would remind their captain of all the funniest stunts and pranks they pulled on the team (and mainly Oikawa himself), his dreams of playing professional volleyball after spring, and most importantly, Iwaizumi. However, their Iwaizumi card was rarely pulled out until after a week after the said boy was hospitalized._

_Though their ideals and reasons were all in perfect honesty, the two couldn’t help but to sprinkle some lies and rumours within their visits. Gossip they have invented, or have heard from someone talking too loud with their friends as they walked along the hallways._

_For example, the moment the devilish duo heard about the fact the reckless second-year Ace named Kyoutani (whom Oikawa had dubbed as Mad-Dog) was dating the sharp tongued and sadist-like Yahaba, they believed Oikawa would at least spark the smallest of interest in that drama._

_Like all of their previous attempts, not one bit of reaction emitted from the depressed setter._

_Not a shine in his gloomy murky eyes. No snarky or peppy remark. No twitch of his lips that could eventually lead into his blood-rising-to-the-cheeks signature smile. No nothing. Oikawa had been sucked of all emotions ever since Iwaizumi’s body was tossed onto that stretcher and was hurried away into the bright blinking lights of the ambulance._

_Oikawa spent his final days of high school in his room, locked away from the dangers of the world, away from the hurtful reality that Iwaizumi may never wake up._

_Although he was in a coma from hitting his head too hard on the rocky cement road due to the collision, the doctor that had diagnosed and was looking into the Ace’s health, told Oikawa that Iwaizumi may be an unfortunate chance that he may never awaken. Unhealthy bacteria had invaded his bloodstream through the large gashes on his body – it was already too late to insert any antibiotics to fight back._

_Oikawa was stunned. In all the seventeen years Iwaizumi was alive for, it would soon be traded with death from sleeping; death from never waking up._

_He wanted to avoid the pain. He wanted to give up his hopes and dreams if it meant the one person who stuck by his side ever since childhood would be alive. Oikawa wished his wants would come true – they never did._

_It was right after the second week Oikawa had been isolated from the entire world when the his mother finally persuaded him to leave his room. Feeling sorry for Iwaizumi’s condition had come to the end; it was time to see him. No more hiding behind a barrier._

* * *

_Oikawa’s bedroom door echoed the sound of the raps against it. A mere and quiet “Come in” came from inside; his mother took this chance and since her hands were holding the tray of food for her son, she used her back in order to push the door open. Ignoring her initial motherly instincts to scold the boy for not cleaning up after himself in his room cluttered with college applications, she gently placed the tray on his desk and propped herself on the end of the mattress._

_A tense silence radiated off of the two Oikawas; then the older one of the two spoke, gentle at first. “Tooru…about Hajime…I believe you should go see him now.” She looked to her right where the male was cornered, knees brought up to his face. His growing hair serving as a shield to block out his surroundings and the people who had come to visit him._

_“I’ve told you before, Mom, I won’t.” Came the bitter response. “I won’t be seeing Iwa in pain like that again. I just…can’t.”_

_Biting her lip, Mrs. Oikawa stood straight up and grabbed the boy by the wrist rather harshly. Shaking him, she shrieked at her son, wild tears burning in her eyes. “You stupid, stupid boy, you! Do you know how hard it is for me, as a mother, to see her son so devastated over this?” The younger’s brown eyes widened at this – she took no notice as she let go of his wrist and ran her fingers through her short, chin-length wavy hair. “I’ve tried my best to forgive your stubborn actions until this point. You will go see Hajime at the hospital tonight, and you will go take a good, long look at how he is because I promise you, Tooru, your self-destructive will turn a 180 the moment you step foot in that goddamn building!”_

_Breathing deeply, Mrs. Oikawa wiped her tears with the hem of the purple waist apron and left the room. Before closing the door, she spoke once more, voice now raspy and hoarse from scolding her son. “And when you come back, we’ll have plenty to talk about.”_

* * *

_Leaning on a thick white pillar, Oikawa fiddled with the zipper of his Aoba Johsai sweater. Considering the facts he had neglected washing up his previous clothing, his mother presented him with the only clean, warm outer layer that remained. Breathing through his nose and then exhaling though his mouth, the setter tried to calm his racing heart._

_The hospital Iwaizumi was rushed into was one of the most prestigious and contained the most skilled of doctors in all of Japan. Unlike most hospitals with its typical white paint, the building was coloured entirely out of many different shades of blue and yellow – a blue castle of some sort._

_Releasing what seemed to be the fiftieth deep sigh that day, Oikawa finally forced himself to walk through those ten thick white cement pillars standing in front of the lobby. Once the automatic sliding doors detected the motion a person was about to enter the building and slid open, Oikawa was blasted with the familiar scent of bleach and a faint smell of lavender air spray._

_The nostalgia of returning to the hospital filled his senses. It had been exactly what? Three months since he had gone to any hospital to get his knee checked, probably. Uncomfortable brown eyes darted back and forth the front lobby, looking for any sign of an available nurse or doctor. The front desk was bombarded with a family consisting of a child patient in a wheelchair, an elderly woman, and two young women – one seeming a few years older than the other. Arguing about some topic, Oikawa, being respectful to his seniors, avoided interrupting. He sought out to find a vacant nurse when he suddenly felt a tug on the loose sweatpants he was wearing._

_Slowly turning around and spotted a young child. A sharp inhale through his nose almost choked him._

_“Mister, do you mind reading me this story?” The child, who appeared to be around the very young age of three, asked innocently and softly. After seeing the approving nod of the tall male, a book was then extended towards the teen. Oikawa and the child sat down on one of the waiting room’s chairs and propped the small book between them. Although he promised he would only take a few minutes inside this depressing building, Oikawa had a feeling this child needed his company more than anything else._

_Wanting to break the ice before reading, Oikawa introduced himself; the child was named Shoichi – after his father, who had died a few days before he was born. Unfortunately, he had been diagnosed with leukemia on his second year in this world and was currently undergoing chemotherapy. Doctors fear Shoichi may only have next year or the year after left to live; he was so very weak when birthed._

_“So Shoichi-kun,” Oikawa cleared his throat after reading three chapters into the American novel, The Secret Garden. He had marveled at this choice – it was a fairly complex book for a four-year-old child. “Where’s your mother? I supposed she should be looking after you, since you’re, well, pretty young.”_

_“My momma is off at work, and everybody else is busy looking after a patient that almost died a few weeks ago. I wasn’t sure what was going on but I heard very loud sirens and people yelling that night…” Shoichi paused and tapped his unusually thin toddler finger on his chubby chin as he tried to remember details his small child mind could remember. “Momma was gone that night; an emergency at work, she said.”_

_“Did you see who it was?”_

_“Er…” The small boy looked up at the circular lights in the cyan ceiling. After a moment he shook his head. “No, I was too scared – what if that person died along the way? I didn’t want to see a dead person before I die.”_

_Oikawa stared in disbelief at this child. How could he – a mere of four years – able to endure the weight of the possibility of death so easily? Releasing a deep exhale and running a hand through his hair, he smiled down at the kid. “You know, Shoichi-kun, I’m jealous of you.”Confused by what he meant by this, Shoichi tilted his head off to the side and raised a small thin black eyebrow; like a puppy, naïve to the intentions of its owner. “I’m jealous at how well you’re taking this whole ‘dying’ thing. You’re so strong compared to me…”_

_Oikawa chuckled and leaned his head back on the backrest of the chair, closing his eyes. “I think it’s time for me to tell you about myself now, huh. Well, I play for this volleyball team at my high school and ever since I could remember, I always played the game beside my best friend, Iwa-chan.”_

_“Is Iwa-chan a girl?” The curious boy asked, copying the same ‘leaning back with closed eyes’ position his companion was doing. Oikawa almost smiled at this question and gave the boy the correct gender, then he continued his story._

_“Iwa-chan is my nickname for him; his full name is Iwaizumi, Hajime. He has the most powerful spikes and became the Ace of the team in the process. Everyone on our team loves Iwa-chan, not only because he’s able to keep everyone together and knock sense into them…but also because he’s very kind, kinder than anyone on our team, even though he doesn’t show it at all.” Without realizing it, the corners of his lips slowly rose into a small faint smile. “Our life was perfect and it only got better after I realized he shared the same feelings as me; however…on the night we celebrated our final year on the volleyball team, something horrible happened to him.”_

_He opened his eyes and, with a grunt, he propped his elbows on his knees, clasped his hands into a temple position with his fingertips lightly touching his forehead. “That night, Iwa and I were walking together on the road. We were just talking when everything happened all at once. Lights, wind, and loud sirens; It was all muddled up at the time.”_

_Hot tears filled his eyes as he clenched his fingers into fists. “It was supposed to be me that got hit! But damn him, damn him for being a hero! He pushed me out of the way in order to save me and risked his own life instead – that idiot’s always been like that, putting others’ safety before his own. That what I hated, yet at the same time loved, about him.”_

_Shoichi stared with wide eyes at the male emotionally breaking down before him. Without knowing what to do, he placed his small hands around Oikawa’s arm. He softly patted it. Even though he was a child, Shoichi already knew the complex emotions of human beings – he should know, since he experienced the same situation with his mother before._

_Oikawa turned his head and tried to smile down at the boy; he ended up wailing even more hysterically than before as he felt his heart being touched at this physical touch. Shoichi nodded slowly and continued patting his arm. The two stayed this way until the two fell asleep out of exhaustion._

* * *

_“Excuse me, sir, but we’ll need to bring that patient back to his room.” A gentle and firm voice had awoken him. Drowsily, he looked down at his left and saw that he had one arm wrapped securely around the small child’s shoulder, bringing the child to rest on his bicep._

_Slowly snaking his arm up and over the toddler’s head, he bowed his head and apologized to the uniformed nurse. Yawning, he stood up and stretched. As he did this feat, Oikawa glanced out the window. Zoning out the bright lights of the Tokyo buildings, his half-sleeping state suddenly woke up out of realizing how late it was._

_“Uh, Nurse!” He called out before he placed a hand over his mouth when the small child in her arms began stirring. She raised an eyebrow, standing in the middle of the open sliding doors. In a quieter voice the setter asked, “Do you happen to know where a patient named Hajime Iwaizumi is staying at? His room number?”_

_The middle-aged woman hummed and motioned with her head to follow her. The sound of her heels ricocheted off the sleep-like drone of the hospital. It was around the late hours of midnight and only a few roaming nurses were doing their nightly chores and assignments. Some doctors were bundled together in the staff room, discussing among themselves the hospital’s future and what technology would be needed to further assist their patients._

_Oikawa swallowed and followed the lady nurse._

* * *

_Turns out, Shoichi’s room was just three doors down from the Seijoh Ace’s room. Bowing in gratitude, Oikawa proceeded to head down to his friend’s bed. His heart pounded like a beating snare against his chest; his breathing was thin and airy. Hesitating for a moment, Oikawa let his fingers hover over the handle. Shaking his head, he squeezed his eyes shut and opened the door._

_It was quiet except for the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock above the hospital room’s whiteboard. Written in blue and red marker was a time schedule of what time Iwaizumi’s IV was checked, his temperature, and the recordings of the monitor. Just like the rest of the hospital, the walls of the room were painted a light sky blue. Oikawa took in all of this in one glance but lingered at the white sheet drawn bed sitting in the middle of the room, beside the wide window._

_Taking slow steady steps, the brown haired male extended his left arm and silently drew back the curtains. His breathing got caught in his throat once he looked over his lover’s body. From feet up to his waist was a thin white hospital sheet, exposing only the top half to the visible audience. Oikawa felt his whole body tremble but not out of fear, but out of guilt. It was his fault anyways for being the one who wasn’t watching his surroundings that got them two in this situation. His mouth wavered as he took another shaky step closer towards the body on the bed. Fingers jittering, Oikawa reached out and placed a tender hand on Iwaizumi’s sleeping face. He gingerly began petting the stitched up cheek as quiet sniffles escaped his nostrils._

_Lying on the bed, Iwaizumi looked at peace with his sleep. The world could have passed him by and he still would be sleeping perfectly still, without a care in the world – trapped in eternal bliss in his dreams. However, that was what it seemed to the unknowing person; Oikawa already knew. But accepting the fact this beautiful childhood friend of his would soon be gone? You can’t accept facts like that overnight._

_He tore his eyes away from staring at the looped bandage around his head, raw blood seeping through. Looking down at his still hands, unmoving at the patient’s sides, Oikawa took Iwaizumi’s hand closest to him and, kneeling down, he pressed it to his cheek, trying to preserve as much of his lover’s heat._

_“Iwa…I know you won’t be able to hear what I’m going to say, but I’m going to talk anyways.” Although he stuttered a bit, Oikawa merely bit his lip and took another deep breath. “When I first met you, all those wonderful years ago, I thought you were some kid who was just going to tease me for playing only one sport. I thought you were going to tease me like every other boy who played at least three other sports…but that’s what I loved about you back then. You stood up for me, even if we didn’t get along that much back then.”_

_The comatose male stayed as still as before and made no reaction to this. Oikawa just went on while softly petting the tanner male’s hand. The steady beeping sound from the ECG Machine consumed the silence, mixing in harmony with the constant ringing from the air conditioner._

_“From the moment I was able to set that volleyball for the first time for you, you have no idea how fast my heart was beating. Just seeing your smile – even if you were forcing it to hide the pain from getting hit in the face, it never failed to cause my face to warm and my heart to skip a beat.” Oikawa wiped his tears with the edge of his jacket sleeve across. “So, I guess what I’m tryna say here is…Thank you for always being there for me, whether you were protecting me like the guard dog you are or because you loved me as much as I loved you…or both.”_

_With a shaky breath in, Oikawa slowly stood up, let go of Iwaizumi’s callused hand and began heading out. He knew he didn’t need to come back to this place anymore – he had already accepted the fact. Iwaizumi was his own person and if he wanted to leave the living, he was free to do so._

* * *

_A year and two months passed since Iwaizumi slowly drifted away from this world in his slumber. Oikawa felt nothing but a painless numbing feeling course through his body. Last one to leave that ironic sunny day, Oikawa shed no tears. Although he had accepted his death the moment it was announced, there was still a large hole in his heart to which it may never be filled ever again. Still, he had hope he’ll one day find someone Iwaizumi would approve of._

_Staring straight at the newly covered up hole, Mikasa volleyball between his hands, Oikawa slowly kneeled down before the grave. Gingerly, he reached into his tailored suit jacket and pulled out a small plastic Godzilla figurine. Only using one hand, Oikawa pushed some dirt out of the way and made a small hole; the small toy was then dropped into the hole and covered._

_Staring at the engraved name, Oikawa smiled a ghost of a smile. “Thank you for everything Iwa-chan. I promise I’ll reach the top for the both of us…and I promise to never forget you.”_

_Raising his hand, he bent his fingers into his palm creating a fist. For the final time, Oikawa gave his best friend the final fist bump they’ll ever do. Till death do them part, Hajime Iwaizumi and Tooru Oikawa will always be at each other’s sides._


	10. Busy Days; Lonesome Nights

**Hi everyone! Tis I, the author of this story. Now, before I starting ranting off in this "not-so chapter" I would first like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has read this story so far. You all have been such an inspiration for me to work harder as an author and I thank y'all for that.**

**Next, I would like to thank Furudate for creating Haikyuu!! For the past 8 years, this manga artist has struggled day and night, just to create these volleyball dorks. On every fanfiction writer's behalf, I bow down at FULL respect for the person behind the series.**

**Lastly, I want to thank my fellow authors and friends for their advice on writing over the course of time. They've all been such harsh critics that somehow helped improve my writing - and me as an author.**

**THERE. WE. GO!!**

**  
  
_Why am I writing this,_ you ask yourself.   
**

**Well...uhm, during the course of this pandemic and with a new story in my drafts I would like to wrap up, I've slowly lost interest in the journey between our two beloved setters.**

**BUT!**

_**(I see you walking out of this theater, oh don'T YOU DARE LEAVE)** _

**BUT!!**

**I will still be continuing this story...except it won't be the same as this, oh no.**

**Please remember the name " UnSpokenFandoms" **

**Or, better yet, follow me on Tumblr @[unspokenfandoms.tumblr.com](https://unspokenfandoms.tumblr.com/) to keep track where and WHEN the**

_**new** _

_**AND** _

_**improved** _

**version of this story will be published!!  
  
  
I am VERY sorry we're ending the story here FOR NOW. However, once I come back, I'll be coming back with BD;LN 2.0**

_**This is UnSpokenFandoms. Saying, "We'll meet once more, friends."** _

**Author's Note:**

> Since there's not a lot of OiSuga fanfics, much less angst, here's a fic for you rare-pair lovers!~ :3


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